A high school in Brooklyn, New York, recently switched students to remote learning to shelter 2,000 migrants after they were relocated from a tent shelter due to a heavy rainstorm.
Classes at James Madison High School were moved online Tuesday after city officials bused migrants from a tent at Floyd Bennett Field in South Brooklyn to the school’s gym and auditorium due to strong winds and heavy rain, The Christian Post reports.
"Teams are doing a great job keeping asylum seekers safe and dry before they depart tomorrow morning,” NYC mayor Eric Adams, who visited the school when the migrants arrived, tweeted on Tuesday.
On the ground at James Madison High School. Our @nycemergencymgt, @nychealthsystem, and @nycschools teams are doing a great job keeping asylum seekers safe and dry before they depart tomorrow morning. pic.twitter.com/VKMWrnJvLR
— Mayor Eric Adams (@NYCMayor) January 10, 2024
However, according to the New York Post, residents and parents were unhappy with the move, according to the New York Post.
A local resident identified himself only as Rob said, “It’s a litmus test. They are using a storm, a legitimate situation, where they are testing this out. I guarantee you they’ll be here for the entire summer.
“There’s 1,900 people getting thrown into my neighborhood, half a block from where I live, and we don’t know who they are,” he said.
“They’re not vetted. Many of them have criminal records and backgrounds, and we don’t even know.”
One mom, named Michelle, went off on the migrants when the buses arrived at the school at around 6 p.m. in the pouring rain.
“How do you feel? Does it feel good?” the woman, who only identified as Michelle, screamed at the buses.
“How does it feel that you kicked all the kids out of school tomorrow? Does it feel good? I hope you feel good. I hope you will sleep very well tonight!”
After spending the night at James Madison High School, the migrants were bused back to the field at 4:15 a.m. on Wednesday.
According to CBS 2, city officials said they would not use James Madison as a migrant shelter again.
New York City Emergency Management Commissioner Zach Iscol said that officials acted "out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety and well-being of individuals working and living at the center."
Last September, New York City admitted 95,000 migrants, twice the number of Houston, Texas, Miami-Dade County, Florida, and Los Angeles, California, after Title 42 was lifted in May. Under Title 42, border officials were authorized to immediately turn away undocumented migrants in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Photo Courtesy: @Getty Images/Spencer Platt / Staff
Video Courtesy: Fox 32 Chicago via YouTube
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
